The subject of this patent application relates generally to drums, and more particularly to cajón or box style drums configured with improved features for a wider variety of sounds and convenience in playing.
Applicant hereby incorporates herein by reference any and all patents and published patent applications cited or referred to in this application.
By way of background, cajón drums are nominally six-sided, box-shaped percussion instruments played by slapping usually just the front face with the hands or fingers or sometimes other implements such as brushes, mallets, or sticks. Such cajón drums are typically of all wood construction, with particularly the played face or front wall made of relatively thin plywood, forming the striking surface and what is effectively the head of the drum. The other five sides may also be made of plywood of various thicknesses to produce the desired tones and resonance. All six sides are typically flat, again yielding a box-shaped drum. An internal box framework or support structure is first fashioned, again usually out of wood, to which the faces or sides are attached as by nails or screws or simply wood glue. Most often, at least the front face is not glued or nailed but attached by screws at various points, with the screws enabling “tuning” of the front face or head so as to get the desired tone or resonance as well as more convenient removal of the front face for replacement as needed or access to the interior of the drum for any repairs or enhancements. Typically a round, substantially centered air or sound hole is provided in the back face or wall of the drum generally to allow the sound out and for further acoustic effects. Most often the cajón drum is played while seated on it in a somewhat straddle fashion and reaching down to strike the front face or head. As such, the top side of the drum serves as a seat and so while made of wood may also include a padded cover or the like for comfort.
As an added feature of some cajón drums, snare wires may be installed within the drum so as to be in contact with the inside surface of the front face or head, usually near the top of the drum where the higher tones are played more like the tones of a conventional snare drum. In some cases the wires are installed in a traditional fashion as in any snare drum, including snare wires, snare holder, strainer, and strainer holder, all installed vertically adjacent the inside surface of the front face. In such an installation, then, the snare feature is “always on.” Similarly, for both adjustability and as an alternative installation arrangement, the snare wires may be installed extending upwardly on a round wooden dowel or the like that is rotatably installed in a horizontal fashion as suspended between the sides of the drum adjacent and substantially parallel to the inside surface of the front face, with a cord or the like running from the wooden dowel to a turnbuckle installed at the back of the drum and accessible through the sound hole so as to adjust the snare (tighten or loosen the tension on the dowel and thus the degree of pressure of the wires against the inside surface of the front face. While the turnbuckle can be completely loosened so as to pivot the snare wires out of contact with the front face and so turn the snare “off,” the practical implication of this alternative installation is also an “always on” snare feature, here simply being adjustable like tuning a conventional drum head so as to obtain a desired tone or “buzz-like effect” from the snare. In other cases it is desired that the snare feature only be selectively “on” and so be capable of being turned “on” and “off.” In one approach external knobs accessible on the outside of the cajón are engaged with the wooden snare dowel on opposite ends through holes in the drum sides—one knob integral with the dowel and so rotating the dowel so that the snares wires are brought into or out of contact with the inside surface of the front face as the knob is rotated, and the opposite knob turning independent of the dowel and so serving to selectively tighten and pull the dowel into contact with the intermediate side wall and so prevent the dowel's rotation once in the desired position, thereby selectively locking the cajón drum in the “snare on” or “snare off” position. Other similar arrangements have been proposed whereby the snare is turned “on” and “off” by adjusting one or more knobs on the side(s) of the cajón so as to rotate the dowel on which the snare wires are affixed, directly or through a lever. In still other arrangements an external pedal may be operably connected to the snare assembly so as to selectively turn the snare “on” and “off,” such as “on” when the pedal is depressed and “off” when it is not.
Other percussion sounds have been incorporated into cajón drums beyond the snare wires or other cords, guitar strings or the like to create a desired “buzz like sound.” For example, bells or rattles on a looped wire or string may be loosely suspended adjacent the front face for an additional sound when the front face is struck, particularly immediately adjacent to the location of the bells or rattles.
In all such cajón drums with additional percussion sounds incorporated, the range and selective playability of the percussion accents is often not what is desired or particularly convenient. For example, back to the snare feature, known approaches all have drawbacks, in terms of the snare either being “always on” or the mechanism that enables the snare to be selectively turned “off” not being readily operated while playing, requiring at least one hand and sometimes two in order to shift the snare wires as desired. As such, these mechanisms are really only practical “between songs” or basically when not playing the cajón. Even the external pedal operation of the snare is limiting on the player's body position and so not as convenient in use. As such, an improved box drum apparatus and method for selectively turning the snare feature “on” and “off” is still needed. Even the other percussion features that might be incorporated in a cajón drum such as bells are rattles are limited in their use and playability, only being able to sound the accent when striking or not striking a certain area of the face and so leading to potentially inadvertent or unwanted sounds simply by playing too close to where the percussion feature is located within the drum. Even the conventional rectangular “box” shape of cajón drums leaves something to be desired, and improvements to the resonance and tonal range are still needed as well as may be affected by the shape of the drum as well as the shape, size, and location of the sound hole(s).
Aspects of the present invention fulfill these needs and provide further related advantages as described in the following summary.